


acrimony

by iviy



Category: Pocket Monsters | Pokemon (Main Video Game Series), Pocket Monsters: Black 2 & White 2 | Pokemon Black 2 & White 2 Versions
Genre: F/M, Gen, Hurt/Comfort, Poisoning, i just really like black/white 2, sorry lmao
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-07-15
Updated: 2017-07-24
Packaged: 2018-12-02 10:52:09
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,824
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11507892
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/iviy/pseuds/iviy
Summary: it was never meant to go like this, yet, perfect plans will forever be loopholes for disaster.





	1. bittersweet venom

**Author's Note:**

> hihi, i'm new to ao3! (publishing stories anyway.)  
> so, mei/rosa is Mar and hyuu/hugh is Heith. sorry if this makes it confusing, it was their names in my game so it was my way of familiarizing them easier ;v;

After crushing the competition in Driftveil City's Pokemon World Tournament, Mar set out to expand her knowledge of the vast Unova region. This task was cut short, however, as she was almost immediately cut off by her tutor, Cheren, and her friend Heith.  
"Those Plasma dimwits are out there again, we have to get them!" Heith hollered, his hothead demeanor lacking falter. Cheren curtly rest a hand on his shoulder with a sigh. "Easy, Heith, we should probably set a plan of acti-""I'm going now, I have to find Purrloin!"

Mar watched with a relatively blank stare, turning to Cheren for his next move. The gym leader simply tapped his foot a few times and ran after him. Mar cast out her Pidgeot for a bird's-eye-view of Cheren and Heith's upcoming scenario, and was yet again intruded by a familar character.  
Colress.

"Tsk-tsk, they never seem to know the difference between bravery and pure recklessness! I doubt they will get into anything beneficial." The blonde stalked toward Mar, his gaze still rested upon his tablet. She was honestly surprised he did not trip. 

Colress continued. "Well... it is up to you to follow suit in their fate, but I highly advise not." Mar's brown eyes settled softly in a lock with her Pidgeot, who timidly flicked their beak towards the dock. A long, painful moment of silence fell to them before Mar shot an unreadable glance- determination? no, regret? regardless- to Colress and gently sat on Pidgeot's back, the bird Pokemon swiftly taking off. 

The scientist watched the girl and Pidgeot make their way towards Neo-Plasma's ship with a cheeky, ear-to-ear grin. "She really is something," He mumbled.

 

A giant ship. A giant, giant ship. A giant ship that was centuries behind the day.  
It must be Neo-Plasma's.. Let's see what's going on here, Mar thought to herself, lightly tugging Pidgeot's hair streak to lower itself above the ship. What seemed to be a dozen grunts surrounded Heith and Cheren, which in effect gave Mar a vile feeling to her stomach, her throat tightening in fear. She should have gone sooner. Damn you, Colress.  
She quickly fought off the emerging panic attack, though she still felt giddyness in the back of her head; she dismissed it as best as she could for the sake of Cheren and Heith.  
The trainer fished out a premier ball and swallowed hard, readying herself for her ambush. Breathe. Ball in one hand, Pidgeot's streak in the other, she anxiously padded her dangling foot onto nothing. She could feel her Pokemons' trust seeping into her bones; she was ready.

"Porygon2, Teeter Dance." 

With a single tug on Pidgeot's hair and a well-aimed chuck of her Porygon2's ball, she was launched dead-center into the battle. Porygon2 swiftly went into action, mesmerizingly shifting around the Grunts until they fell to the ground in a daze. The tension left throughout her body, almost like a Toarkoal expelling steam from its shell. I did it. 

Heith and Cheren both whipped around in unison to face Mar, with both shock and relief. "Goddamn Mar, way to freak us out! We weren't expecting that at all! T-thanks though, really." Heith was the first to express his graditude, holding out a hand to her so she could hop off Pidgeot. Cheren dipped his head, folding his hands behind his back. "The PWT just wasn't enough.. You, along with Heith, are impressing me in new ways every time I see you. It's almost like you're a different Mar from the one I took on in Aspertia City." He chided, unrealistically heartfelt for someone like him. 

"Thank you, guys." A simple answer for a simple deed; Mar was a girl of few words, and never thought much about what she did for others. Nonethelesss, she accepted Heith's hand and allowed her feet to meet the wooden surface of the ship.  
That's when they realized they were still on dangerous grounds.  
Cheren shot up and made a sharp gesture towards the ship's entrance. "We need to go, now." Mar and Heith nodded, the three and their Pokemon attempting their escape when a metal slide confirmed it was too late. They were trapped.. and noticed. While the dazed Grunts did not budge, a wave of more than at least 20 were storming towards them. 

"Stoutland, use Slash!"  
"Donphan, Rollout!!"  
"Pidgeot, Tailwind."

Cheren, Heith and Mar's Pokemon obeyed and worked in unison to create a massed, powerful assault. Cheren's Stoutland clawed its way through many Watchogs and Golbats in a fury, Heith's Donphan creating demolished pathways with Rollout, all while Mar's trusted Pidgeot assisted them with the wind in their favor. Her Porygon2 tried to confuse foes trapped within the Tailwind, but to little avail. In the quickest fashion possible without sounding sarcastic, Mar casted it back to its ball with a "Thanks.".  
Despite their almost certain victory, the wave of Plasma Pokemon persisted. Cheren, being the apparent lead of their trio, told the trainers when to back off and advance; it surely was helpful, but they were being overwhelmed. At that point Cheren commanded his Stoutland to use Wide Guard, to give them a brief safety wall. It flickered lightly to indicate its obstruction inching closer as Mar tried to study the teeming foes.  
Golbats took up the majority of the Plasma population. Most of them seemed busy gnawing at Stoutland's barrier..  
Wait.

A Crobat took residence in the backlines, charging up a poison dart-like attack of sorts. Mar mentally traced its point of aim to the wavering Wide Guard and nearly choked on her breath- the dart was headed straight for Pidgeot, dead-center of the throat. 

A blinding flash of purple illuminated the dusking atmosphere; within seconds Stoutland's Wide Guard shattered. Mar's Pidgeot winced and drew back on instinct, preparing for a pain that never came. Cheren and Heith finally cleared out the remaining Golbat, both crying out exclamations of glee. "Well done, Heith!" Aspertia's gym leader had chided. The former appeared a little troubled in his thoughts, although disregarded after his response- "I still have to find Purrloin, but.. that was pretty awesome. Thanks, same to you."  
Mar's body was still hung protectively over her Pidgeot's body. Her Pokemon was indeed a bit dumbfounded, gingerly nudging her side with their beak. They really hoped she hadn't taken that hit. All worries were cast away as Mar struck out of her little stupor just in time for her friends to walk over to her. 

"You really don't need another thanks, but I'm saying it anyway. Thank you." The girl's rival said half-intently. Mar merely dipped her head and looked around the Plasma ship's floor. No Grunts.. dizzy.. Dizzy? Shit.  
Truth be told, Mar wasn't certain herself if it was she or the barrier that fell victim to Crobat's attack; her increasingly tunneled vision was the deciding factor of that. Why didn't she feel any pain, then? 

"Mar.. I know you don't like to speak a whole lot, but you're starting to worry us. Are you alr- Oh my Arceus, you're pale. Take a seat."  
The girl wasn't sure who was talking to her. Every sound felt like it was filtered behind a wall of muffy, clouded confusion. She couldn't even comprehend what they had said that well. How long was she standing there? Or is she sitting?  
She could at least feel the cold touch of a hand on her forehead, it drew back after wiping some moisture off that she didn't even know was there. A muffed voice, probably the same from before, spoke again. A soft ringing in her right ear that intensified every so often came to be as well..

"Something's wrong. We should get her home-"  
"Home?! She could be dying, for Arceus' sake! Take her to a damn hospital!"

Alas, Mar tried to speak and tell them she would be fine. A high-pitched crack in her tone and a small whimper came out. She could feel herself being lifted; Cheren or Heith must be carrying her. More silence.  
"At this point, I don't think we can even do that. While we fought off Neo-Plasma's swarm, the ship has moved to a remote sea. Our only option is Pidgeot's trust.."  
"Fucking hell! Agh.. You better be okay," An obvious Heith said, running his fingers through her brown locks. Mar had relied on her tinted hearing so much that she didn't notice her nonexistent vision. She must have closed her eyes at some point. The faint ringing in her ears became worse and worse within every heartbeat. Why can't she just lose consciousness now?

 

-Cheren POV-  
Once Cheren and Heith were done congratulating one another, the gym leader was the first to approach Mar. Her posture seemed oddly upright, as if she had quickly stood up. Heith wasn't too far behind. "You really don't need another thanks, but I'm saying it anyway. Thank you."  
Mar did her little 'you're welcome' stance, dipping her head and looking the other way. Typical. Cheren walked closer in slight impatience. "Well then.. Mar, do you think your Pidgeot can take all of us out of here? The gangplank's still closed, your parter may be our best option." No response. The girl swayed a little on her feet. Heith scratched the back of his head, clearly a little worried. "What's wrong with her?". Cheren decided to approach Mar face-first with a confused stare. Mar was looking at the ground, her fingers and knees trembling.

"Mar.. I know you don't like to speak a whole lot, but you're starting to worry us. Are you alr-" The gym leader cut himself off after noticing the deathly colorless, gray tone to her face. "Oh my Arceus, you're pale. Take a seat." Cheren spotted beats of sweat forming at her hairline and took a hand out to wipe them away. He could feel Heith's footsteps pounding the floor close to him as he went to see for himself. "Holy shit." Instead of asking Mar to relax, he took her arm and tried to lower her gently, since Cheren's request was indeed futile. What happened next received shocked gasps from the two.

Mar's eyes rolled to the back of her head and she fell forward into Heith's arms, every one of her limbs going limp. "Mar!" Heith cried, quickly cradling the girl in his arms. He smoothed her hair behind her forehead to confirm her ill state- "She's burning up, Cheren..!"

"Something's wrong. We should get her home-"  
"Home?! She could be dying, for Arceus' sake! Take her to a damn hospital!"

The two boys stopped their chatter when Mar slightly opened her mouth. What was going to be an "i" had cracked and she whimpered, shutting her mouth. Cheren swallowed hard; What could have caused this, and how severe could it be? He was ready to take Pidgeot and alert some Driftveil civilians at the dock, but quickly noticed they had set sail- nothing but water in every direction.  
"At this point, I don't think we can even do that. While we fought off Neo-Plasma's swarm, some of their grunts must have started the ship before attacking. Our only option is Pidgeot's trust.."  
"Fucking hell! Agh.. You better be okay."  
The gym leader grumbled a bit behind his throat. Heith sure was a hothead..

Cheren switched focus to Pidgeot, who was equally aware of the situations. Its heavily toned eyes quivered a bit, obviously wanting to try and comfort their trainer. But even they knew there was nothing that could be done.  
The young man steadied his glasses and crouched down to the Pokemon's level. "I'm not Mar, but.. we could really use your help right now." Pidgeot seemed to eagerly understand, adjusting their posture and flapping their wings confidently. They let out a bold trill. "Alright, easy," Cheren replied behind a slight chuckle. That single heartbeat of affection had drowned in the sea of worry that he should have shared with Heith this whole time; Mar was his best (and possibly only) childhood friend, and losing her could harm him in ways unprecedented. 

It appeared that Heith took note of Pidgeot and Cheren's interaction, demonstrated as he was slowly loading a barely-conscious Mar onto the flying-type. The girl seemed to twitch and furrow her brows under closed eyes, but neither trainer wanted to talk about it. They simply returned their staring Pokemon, made themselves comfortable atop Mar's partner, and set off to Arceus-knows-where.


	2. 2- fly, flu?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Once Cheren, Heith and Mar take flight with the girl's Pidgeot, they come to realize that it's a longer tread to safety than one can ever imagine.

Heith held close to Pidgeot's neck, rubbing his thumb across Mar's hand intertwined with his own. Indeed, it was embarrassing to be so intimate (especially to his best friend), but the girl seemed to be immensely troubled in her sub-conscious state. Sweat as cold as ice trickled down her forehead and she breathed in brief, weak intervals; not to mention her entire body was pretty warm. Not even Cheren knew what could have caused this, but what mattered most at this time was finding solid ground. 

"Mmfh.." A shudder ran through Mar's figure. Heith supposed the frigid winds weren't quite doing wonders for her, so he opted to completely embrace her. Mar's knitted expression slighty faltered once Heith was practically cuddling her atop Pidgeot. Such actions are a lot less awkward when your dearest friend's life probably depends on you, Heith supposed.

Their spooning went on long enough for Cheren, who was essentially piloting Mar's Pokemon, to take notice. The gym leader glanced back only to see the slumbering Mar being gently caressed and shushed by Heith, of all people. "My my," Cheren whispered, half-hoping the hot-headed boy would hear. Much to his delight, he did. "Hey!! Don't you dare think this the other way with that brain of yours." The response was as comical as one would expect.

The boys' bout of fun was cut short by a distinct Xtransceiver chime. Cheren almost immediately became stoic and digged into his pocket to bring out the ringing device. Once Cheren tapped to begin the call, he quickly matched gazes with Heith and made a horizontal motion across his mouth, likely to tell him not to immediately spill the case. The latter figured whoever was calling was close to at least one of them. 

"Heya hey, Cheren!"  
Great. Fantastic. That sole greeting was an instant conformation of the caller- Nate, Mar's other childhood friend. Heith and Nate's relationship wasn't very.. established. Saving that ordeal for another time, he wondered what his peer would do. 

"Ah, yes, Nate. Hello. What have you called for?" Cheren was exceptionally well at hiding stress; Heith brought to his attention that he kept the Xtransceiver's camera angled to where Nate couldn't really tell they were on a flight. However, Heith was already told not to show himself, so he remained low to Pidgeot, still comforting Mar.

Nate- fortunately - didn't seem to notice anything wrong and began to explain his call. "You're still in Driftveil with Mar, right? I heard the Pokemon World Tournament recently finished construction and is already taking participants. Y'all should totally check it out, Emboar and I are stoked. So.. I was just curious if you and Mar wanted to enter a tourney with me tonight," The trainer sounded lively as ever, chatting away to his heart's content. Cheren had to physically turn away to hide a cringe plastered on his face- Not only would be have to make an excuse for leaving Driftveil, but turn him down on the PWT as well. He just had one with Heith and Mar that afternoon anyway.. Bingo. 

"Sorry, but, uh, we beat you to it. Just a few hours ago we entered one of its first tournaments. As anyone would have thought, Mar swept it."   
"Aha ha, that's my girl! But.. that's a shame. All cool though, I'll go solo! Just watch!" Nate exclaimed unnecessarily loud, his Emboar's cry of agreement picking up through the line.   
"I expect nothing less from you, Nate. Give it all you and your Pokemon-- Waagh!"

A sharp swerve of Pidgeot's flight pattern threw Heith and Cheren off guard. Though chances of Nate likely finding them out now escalated, Cheren had to prioritize the situation at hand. He kept his Xtransceiver secured to his wrist and nodded to Heith, who sent out his Unfezant. A flock of Rufflet, lead by a Braviary, had attempted to attack Pidgeot en route. 

Heith called to his Pokemon to whirlwind the horde away, which in fact worked for all but the Braviary. It seemed angered by this and twisted around to charge towards Pidgeot. Before Cheren or Heith could think of what to do next, they found themselves holding onto Mar's body and Pidgeot's strand for dear life as the girl's Pokemon attacked without orders. The Pidgeot lunged itself at Braviary, dodging a Crush Claw and digging into its exposed side with a Drill Peck, followed by use of its own talons to drive its foe backwards. Braviary shrieked, lowered itself so that it was below Pidgeot, and retreated back to the startled Rufflet. Must be some kind of 'okay, you win' thing between flying-types, Cheren brought a finger to his chin as he pondered. 

The gym leader loosened his grip on Pidgeot's streak and patted its cheek affectionately. "Thank you. Your trainer's going to be okay, I'll tell her all about how well you've done once she's awake."  
That last statement was moreso desperate sarcasm than reassurement.  
Cheren looked over his shoulder; Heith was too absorbed into returning Unfezant and soothing Mar's tremors to really give his input on the action. He took this time to face the ugliness that was Nate's reaction, lifting his Xtransceiver wrist to his face. 

It was unbelievably frightening to see the boy this mad.  
"What.. in.. Arceus' name.. are you guys.. doing. And why is Heith there too?!"

 

~..~~..~~..~

 

"I'm sending out Flygon to scout out you guys. You said you headed east of Driftveil, right?"  
"That is correct. Thanks so much, I'll talk to you soo-"  
It was after Cheren had painstakingly told the story to Nate when Heith pointed out an island not too far in the horizon- land. "Wait, Nate, I think we found a landing site. Keep Flygon with you for now," Cheren told the latter through his Xtransceiver. The island looked rather small, and adjacent to.. Nimbasa City? Either way, they needed to get somewhere as soon as possible to examine Mar's condition; the extra flight time to Nimbasa could cost the girl her life. 

Thankfully Nate wasn't so riled up anymore. Yet of course, they all were to an extent. Every one of them were gravely concerned for Mar's condition, but kept that aside for eachother's sanity. "Okay.. Do you have any idea where you are, though? I-I want to meet up with you guys."   
"I can't figure anything out right this moment, but I think I see Nimbasa City's outskirts a little over northeast."  
"Hm. Ah! Liberty Island- it's a small island, as you said, just northeast of Nimbasa City. I'll totally catch up to you guys and fly over there. Bye bye!"  
Click.  
Sheesh. Thank Arceus geography was Nate's thing.. It certainly turned around his mood for the better, too.   
Cheren glanced over to Mar. She was practically in Heith's lap, her face solemnly calm yet pained and her hands shaking relentlessly. Heith must have taken his jacket off some time earlier, since the gym leader spotted it against Mar's head as a makeshift pillow.  
"Heith.. You must be exhausted, let me take Mar for a bit before we land." The spiky-haired boy merely nodded, layed Mar down slowly onto Cheren's leg, and traded spots with the gym leader.

The first thing Cheren did was prod at Mar's forehead. Heith was right; she really was getting hotter. When he kept his hand on her forehead, her internal feverish contorting eased ever-so-slightly. Maybe his hand was cold, or.. comforting in some way. So he remained with his hand softly over her skin, occasionally grazing his thumb over to stroke above her eyebrows or nose. "Hang in there. Please."

He honestly wasn't expecting the girl's eyelids to twitch in response. What shocked him even more was that she managed to get a few barely-audible words out.   
"Mmh.. can't.. do.. this..."

"Mar! Stay with me, stay awake! Can't do what? What can you not do?" Had this been any other situation, Cheren wouldn't have been so frantic. But he really wanted Mar to be awake to get at least some sort of explanation from her. He waited patiently for her response, propping her up into his lap with his full support. Given that there wasn't a reaction from Heith, he must have fell asleep. A look over his shoulder proved that theory- the gym leader decided not to wake him up.   
After an incrutiating amount of time, Mar did speak once more. "I.." She suddenly lurched forward without warning and vomited purple bile. This did nothing but put her in a choked coughing fit, even when her eyes were still shut. She must be only half-conscious, if even coherent at all. 

This immediately sprung Cheren into action; he was no professional with medical emergencies, but knowing a little above standard first aid was typical for someone like him. Purple.. He thought as he took Heith's jacket to dabble away the fluid dripping down her chin. The boy rubbed slow, small circles between her shoulderblades until Mar's coughs subsided into weak wheezes. 

The girl was heavily panting by now. She looked to be clutching at her side, groaning between sharp inhales and gasps. She was crying too.. purple tears, the same hue as the bile she threw up. What could be worse?

"Shhh," Cheren tried to coo her into a less lucid state and gingerly tore her hands away from her shirt she was clutching. Lifting said shirt, he spotted, yet again, purple fluid beginning to spill through a wound. Why didn't it open until now? Why didn't they check earlier? Regardless, he needed to get Heith's attention. Cheren tried to steady Mar's convulsing body in her lap and shook the boy's shoulder. "Heith, Heith. You need to get up, Mar's not doing well." That was enough for the former to jolt up from his light rest and visibly flinch at the sight of a once-again vomiting Mar. The gym leader internally apologized to Pidgeot for getting the fluid on its coat, despite how he knew the Pokemon would understand through its discomfort. Mar showed no sign of fully awakening anytime soon. The tips of her fingers twitched violently at each heave and retch. 

"Why is it purple?! Cheren, of all people you'd know what the actual hell this is!" Heith was routinely outbursting his rage once more. Yet that anger was the fuel needed- it got the gears in Cheren's brain doing their handiwork, like a Klingklang's automize. Their friend's illness and purple substance could easily sum up to one single word.

Poison.


End file.
